Mark Teixeira

Teixeira returned from a wrist injury in 2013 and continued his three true outcome ways: a walk, a strikeout or complaining about the shift. While David Ortiz has adapted to the shift by changing his ...

Teixeira was never able to bounce back from the wrist injury he suffered during the WBC, but he was a player in decline even before the injury, as his pull-happy ways combined with teams' increased willingness to shift against him led to three straight years of batting averages around .250. Teixeira should be good to go following an offseason of rehab, and when healthy, he remains a 30-homer threat. However, wrist injuries have a tendency to sap power, and there is no guarantee that Teixeira will return to form even after the long layoff.

2013

Teixeira came into the spring of 2013 likely to put up the same type of numbers he has for the past several years, showing good power, but seeing his batting average tank thanks to his pull-happy ways and the defensive shifts that have eaten him up. A wrist injury Teixeira suffered during the World Baseball Classic has changed all that. He didn't tear the tendon sheath in his wrist, so he won't require surgery as others with similar injuries (Jose Bautista being the most notable) have, but any wrist injury can sap a hitter's power, so we'd be very hesitant to forecast even four months of Teixeira's usual production. Teixeira's an interesting risk to take if you get him at the right price, but it's not impossible that 2013 becomes a complete bust for him.

2012

Teixeira continues to put up fine power numbers, but after following up his .256 batting average in 2010 with a .248 line in 2011, he has to be considered a liability in that category at this point. Teixeira never hit above .264 in any calendar month in 2011 and his power slumped as the season wore on, with just 14 of his 39 homers coming after June 30. Perhaps hitting coach Kevin Long can work some of the same magic with Teixeira as he has with teammate Curtis Granderson, but until we see the results of that, let someone else overpay for Teixeira's reputation.

2011

As we've come to expect from Teixeira, his 2010 campaign began with a spring swoon that left him with a weak .136/.300/.259 line at April's end. But unlike past seasons, he never really found his groove (other than an outstanding July), resulting in his lowest OPS (.846) since his rookie season of 2003. What is to blame for the down year? Injuries, for one. By the end of August, Teixeira was dealing with a sore thumb, a fractured toe and an inflamed knee, and his season eventually ended with a severe hamstring strain in the playoffs. Fully healthy entering 2011, Teixeira seems due for a bounce-back year, which sounds crazy to say about a player coming off a 33-homer, 108-RBI season.

2010

Teixeira stayed healthy, set new career-highs in home runs (39) and RBI (122), finished second in the AL MVP voting and won a World Series. Not a bad first year in the Bronx, and there’s no reason to expect him to slow down as long as he’s nestled in the heart of the Yankees’ loaded lineup.

2009

After coming over from Atlanta in a mid-season trade in 2008, Teixeira quickly became the Angels’ most dangerous offensive weapon. Teixeira batted .358 and knocked in 43 runs in just 54 games with his new club. His numbers helped make Teixeira one of the biggest fish in this off-season’s free-agent pool, and he signed a huge deal with the Yankees for whom he will hit in the heart of the order.

2008

Teixera was traded to Atlanta last season and will take over first base for the Braves. He showed no signs that the change in home parks would have a dramatic impact on his stats as he hit 17 home runs in 54 games with the Braves. After playing in 507 consecutive games, he missed nearly a month in June with a strained left quadriceps muscle, which kept down his overall numbers. Teixeira has everything wanted in a top slugger: massive power, strong plate discipline and minimal injury risk. He's a blue chip fantasy asset who's still in his prime at age 28.

2007

Big Tex started the year slowly, swatting just nine homers before the All-Star break (though some power was still there in the form of 31 doubles). His monster second half (24 HR, .998 OPS and a nice 47:57 K:BB rate) showed his true talent. His .983 OPS away from Ameriquest (compared with a .791 mark at home) show there's no home park fluke in play here. Expect a huge, MVP-caliber season.

2006

Teixeira anchored the Texas lineup in 2005 with remarkable numbers at home: 30 HR, 88 RBI, .334 BA and a 1.109 OPS. In fact, his OPS surpassed .987 in four months of the year no matter where he hit. Long-term contract talks have begun, but he won't come cheaply with Scott Boras at the helm. He'd be the best first baseman in the AL for the next eight years if he remains in Texas.

2005

Teixeira has arrived. He was fortunate to just miss the required 15 days with a strained oblique in early April, but his monster July (.750 slugging, 13 HR in 100 AB) made up for lost time. There's no more discussion of moving him to the outfield to make room for Adrian Gonzalez, so he'll be a first baseman for the foreseeable future. And a damn good one at that.

2004

Teixeira got in 15 games at third base, so check your league's rules to see if he qualifies there for 2004. The Rangers resisted the urge to send him down to Triple-A following a putrid April (.188/.288/.344), but he was much better after that. He killed lefties to the tune of a .923 OPS and benefited greatly from his home park (.965 OPS at home, .646 OPS on the road). A strong spring from Adrian Gonzalez would result in Teixeira being moved to right field, a position he'll already qualify at for 2004 based on his 2003 numbers. The comparisons to Troy Glaus (pre-2003 version), minus a few walks, look valid.

2003

Texas would like for him to spend at least a few months at Triple-A to start the 2003 season, probably in reaction to the struggles of Hank Blalock last year when he was asked to jump immediately to the big leagues. Teixeira gets a lot of press for his Arizona Fall League season (.333 average/.616 slugging), but it pales in comparison to Blalock's AFL campaign the year before. There were rumors a year ago that had Teixeira moving over to first base, but there's real talk now that Blalock might be shifting to second base to make room. In any event, both project as monster hitters with Teixeira eventually being a switch-hitting 40-plus HR threat.